All-Star Ambassador 'Pudge' Rodriguez enjoys role at this year's baseball extravaganza in Arlington

The upcoming MLB All-Star Week is expected to welcome fans from across the country. But it is also welcoming back familiar names to the arlington area, like 14-time All-Star and Baseball Hall of Famer Iván Pudge Rodríguez.

Rodríguez played with the Rangers from 1991 through 2002 as well as the 2009 season. Rodríguez also played in the league for the then-Florida Marlins, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees and Houston Astros before ending his career with the Washington Nationals. He currently works for the Rangers' front office as special assistant.

Rodríguez reminisced on his time during previous All-Star Weeks, including the 2005 Home Run Derby in Detroit, Michigan.

Iván ‘Pudge’ Rodríguez

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Texas Rangers

Iván Rodríguez currently works as a special assistant for the Rangers Organization.

“It was great,” Rodríguez said, “But competing in the home run derby is not an easy thing to do. Your swing has to change, you have to swing pretty much from the ground up to elevate the ball. The worrying part about competing is the second half because you got to go back to your game swing.”

Rodríguez would lose out to the Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Bobby Abreu, 11 to 5 home runs, in the final round of that year’s derby.

Now Rodríguez serves as an All-Star Ambassador for the Texas Rangers and MLB.

Stepping into his role as ambassador has been nothing short of fulfilling for the former All-Star player.

“It’s a lot of work, but it’s fun work,” said Rodríguez. “I've been here for two and a half weeks already. There is still another week to go but anywhere I go is great. As an ambassador, going and visiting different places and talking about my career and the job that I'm doing now as an ambassador is nice.”

Rodríguez has represented Puerto Rico on multiple occasions, including his role with the Puerto Rican National Team during the 2006 World Baseball Classic.

He even served as a Shadow Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Puerto Rico from 2017 to 2018. In that non-voting role, Rodríguez was one of five people elected to represent Puerto Rico in the U.S. Congress including the former Governor of Puerto Rico Luis Fortuño.

Hispanics make up nearly a quarter of major league players. That number continues to grow thanks in part to players like Rodríguez and the Texas Rangers.

“We put a lot of focus in Latin America, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, to get these players to play for the organization,” said Rodríguez. “We have a great scouting system especially in Latin America, they look for these great talented players. I like what I see and hopefully they keep working on that so they can keep bringing more Latin players into professional baseball.”

Wanting to end his career as a Texas Ranger, Rodríguez signed a one-day contract in 2012.

The Rangers legend would rack up several accolades in his career, including 13 Gold Glove Awards, seven Silver Slugger Awards, 14 All-Star nods and World Series win the Marlins in 2003.

Rodríguez’s name currently sits in the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame with his No. 7 jersey number retired from play.

After the press conference, Rodríguez attended a youth baseball academy held a Globe Life Field aimed to teach aspiring players about the sport.

The Home Run Derby takes place Monday and the All-Star Game will be played Tuesday with various other events occurring throughout the week.

All-Star Week Schedule:

July 12: HBCU Swingman Classic at Globe Life Field
July 13: All-Star Futures Game and Skills Competition/All-Star Celebrity Softball Game at Globe Life Field
July 15: Gatorade All-Star Workout Day/Home Run Derby at Globe Life Field
July 16: MLB All-Star Game at Globe Life Field
July 13-16: Capital One All-Star Village at Choctaw Stadium, Esports Arlington Stadium and Expo
Village hours: July 13-14 10 a.m.-8 p.m., July 15-16 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Emmanuel Rivas Valenzuela is KERA's summer 2024 SPJ news intern. Got a tip? Email Emmanuel Rivas Valenzuela at [email protected].

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